A former army officer who was sacked from his £640,000-a-year job as a hedge fund manager days after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease is suing his former employers for disability discrimination.

The former British Army officer claims that by the time he was told things were “not working out” in July last year he was already showing signs of the degenerative condition, which damages the nervous system and causes muscle weakness.

I have no doubt that I was dismissed because of my disabilityMichael Johnson

Mr Johnson, who is now in a wheelchair, said he was finding it "difficult to walk and even to stand" in the period before his diagnosis and dismissal, and claims he was sacked because of his illness.

Fortress deny any knowledge of him having serious medical issues before his employment was terminated, and claim no one at work noticed anything beyond a "slight limp," which they put down to a "minor sports injury."

The firm argues that Mr Johnson was dismissed because of his performance. Mr Johnson is now asking three judges at the Central London Employment Tribunal to find Fortress guilty of disability discrimination in relation to his dismissal.

Michael Johnson is now in a wheelchair.Credit:
Champion News

In his witness statement before the tribunal, Mr Johnson said: "No prior notice or indication had been given to me that my employment was to be terminated...my employment was terminated completely out of the blue.

"I have no doubt that I was dismissed because of my disability, whether directly because of it ...or because [my boss] questioned my commitment because of my frequent absences from work."

He told the tribunal that his condition was so bad that he became unable to walk to the tube station and eventually had to get a taxi to work each day.

My former employers' assertion that their knowledge was limited to my having a slight limp is neither credible nor trueMichael Johnson

Mr Johnson, of Notting Hill, said: "I believe that it was clear to anyone that I had a serious problem that had got progressively worse.

"My former employers' assertion that their knowledge was limited to my having a slight limp is neither credible nor true."

He said the suggestion that colleagues and bosses thought he had a minor sports injury as "not only implausible, but frankly insulting."

Dan Stillitz QC, representing Fortress, told the tribunal that Mr Johnson's colleagues and superiors had no idea that he was suffering from motor neurone disease or any other serious problem prior to his dismissal, and that he was dismissed purely because of his performance.